Ask anyone who knows our Nina and they'll tell you that she has a "heart" for service and giving--they're right! Nina and I have been working together in the church nursery and with the toddlers for about three years now, and she is clearly in her element!
From our first days together as a family while in Russia it was clear that Nina was comfortable being a "little mother". One morning while we were in Moscow on our way home to the U.S. we caught Nina on video tape informing us--in her best Russ-English--that Olga need to take a shower! This is particularly funny cause Olga didn't appear nearly as concerned about her own need for a shower at the time--little sister (not biological, mind you!) was already "taking over"!
During our early days as a family we discovered that Nina had been given the responsibility of taking care of many younger children in foster homes and the orphanage. She was a very petite eight yr. old when we adopted her--clearly too young for many of the tasks/responsibilities assigned to her. So, we soon found that we had to step in and relieve her of what was becoming a self-imposed responsibility whereever we were--at church, with friends, family, etc. Nina was a little girl who clearly had not had much opportunity to BE a little girl.
Now that she has had several years of being "relieved" of those duties, and she's now a more mature young teenager, it has been sweet to see her naturally gravitate to and prefer caring for and nurturing the younger kids around her!
It is truly one of her most endearing qualities--except for when big sister doesn't particularly need any of little sister's "nurturing"! :-)
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